


28 Minutes Later

by epithetta



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Gen, Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-02
Updated: 2013-01-02
Packaged: 2017-11-23 07:57:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/619810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/epithetta/pseuds/epithetta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Does it seem horribly unfair to you that they can run? It's a betrayal of every film I've seen."</p>
            </blockquote>





	28 Minutes Later

**Author's Note:**

> Written utilising the writerinadrawer prompt 4.06, "Into the Woods" (One or more members of Torchwood is lost in the wilderness overnight with exactly 7 items in their pockets/bags.) Added Element: A woodland creature. For kel_reiley, and she'll know why.

Ianto had the shotgun, but it was still strapped to his back. Not useful, this bandoleer, Tosh thought, as she climbed the tree. Even if she could open the shell casings, the constant rain would get the gunpowder wet. And what would she do with them anyway? She was gifted but not that gifted. 

There was a screech not far off in the distance and Tosh's foot slipped a bit on the bark. Her ankle dragged against the roughness and ripped the skin open. Strange how she barely registered it as pain. 

_It's some sort of monkey, escaped from the testing lab, and the ALF people are nutters._ (Jack) 

They loaded up with guns and the scanners. Gwen had the food in her pack, and in retrospect that should have been done differently, but Tosh didn't even have her own pack (though she did have her empty gun and a Clif bar in her pocket), so that was a pointless criticism now.

The screech formed words, "Jesus Christ!" and "No!" and then it just spiraled back into screaming. Tosh swung her leg over the tree branch and sat there, metres and metres off the ground.

_Well, I daresay if we find them eating deer brains we'll have our answer, won't we?_ (Ianto) 

Tosh pressed her forehead to the bark and tried to think of something. Somewhere in the darkness, Jack was sniffing the ground or running, and Ianto was with him. She'd put a bullet into Owen, and in retrospect she should have done Jack, because then he'd come back to life normal. That was her mission in life now. Kill Jack, get an ally. 

The screaming devolved into coughing, retching, barking noises that they made while their eyes bled and their brains turned over. Tosh'd watched it in Ianto, as they'd all stood there in shock after he'd executed that wild rabid hiker. The infection spread in less than thirty seconds, from what she could see, and that hadn't been much because she'd been running. 

_Does it seem horribly unfair to you that they can run? It's a betrayal of every film I've seen._ (Owen)

The tree was the only place where she could hide with any certainty. The leaves had turned over right before the rain had started and she wondered if there was any part of her that was dry. Her leg was starting to throb, but Owen had the medkit, and his pack was still strapped to his back at the campsite. If she could make it back, she could get it, and his gun. Shoot Jack right between the eyes. 

There was a rustling below that wasn't from the rainwater dripping off the trees. She stopped and stared straight down at Jack and Ianto running through the clearing. Ianto had gone for Jack first. Ianto always went for Jack.

_My god if this spreads, Britain will be devastated._ (Gwen)

They dashed out of the clearing and away. Tosh could hear their progress farther and farther from her at this height, away from the campsite. She thought maybe she could travel through the treetops, but that was looking like a bad idea, and the last thing she wanted was to fall and break a leg.

Tosh shimmied down the tree after a few more seconds and backed up, watching where Jack and Ianto had gone. Her torch swung on her belt, but she didn't dare use it. She would have to keep an eye out for the fire, if it was still burning. 

_Promise me if I become one of those things, you'll kill me._ (Tosh)

The fire was dead, not even smoking when she got there. Owen's corpse was stiffening, and she had to break his arm to get his pack off. His gun was missing, as if he'd taken it out and then lost it. Even his extra mag didn't fit her SIG.

There was a snap off to her left and she turned. 

Gwen's eyes shone red in the dim light, black fringe like mud plastered to her head. Tosh raised her gun, but it wasn't loaded and even if it were, Gwen didn't care. She gritted her teeth and surged forward.

"Gwen—"

END


End file.
